We’ve Gone to the Dark Side

I’ve been a sailor my entire life. My Mom taught me to sail when I was 5 and I’ve been consumed by sailboats ever since. My Dad always talked about Powerboaters with disdain, calling them Stinkpotters. My Mom used to say, “Sailors spend time on the water for the joy of sailing, and Stinkpotters are just on the water to get to a destination.”

Sailing the Bahamas 2014

So how did we get here? When we used our Manta 40, Double Wide, as a weekender we truly did just go sailing with no destination in mind and no deadline to get there. But once we started taking extended cruises, we found that our sailing changed. We were constantly on an agenda to get to the next destination and that usually meant that we could not wait on favorable winds. Thus we motored. And we motored ALOT. We’ve “sailed” Double Wide across the Gulf of Mexico 8 times and we’ve usually motored at least half the time (or more) because the wind didn’t cooperate.

The beginning of the end

Family Regatta, Georgetown Bahamas

During our trip to the Bahamas in 2014, we anchored near a Nordhavn while in Georgetown and in talking to the owner, I realized, for the first time, that there might be a better way to cruise (but I couldn’t bring myself to say the words). In 2015 we were in a marina in Stuart FL and there was a Nordhavn 55 in the slip next to us. The owners were kind enough to invite us aboard for Sundowners and a tour. Michelle was ready to make the move immediately, but still I was resistant. Then in January of 2016 we had Double Wide on the hard in West Palm Beach for a new bottom job and other maintenance. The Trawler Fest was happening in the marina next door and I casually suggested to Michelle that perhaps we should go check out the show – just for something to do…

Before I knew what was really happening, we decided to sell DW and buy a Trawler, but I didn’t want just any trawler. I wanted a boat that could cross oceans if we wanted and it had to be economical to operate. And of course, it had to make a statement when you looked at her. The only boat, in my mind, that ticks off all the requirements is the Nordhavn.

The beginning of a new beginning

So we begin our new adventure aboard our new to us, Roam, a Nordhavn 47.

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5 Comments

M HALEY

April 19, 2016

Well Clark & Michelle what an exciting time !
Getting to know ‘ROAM’ & having all the fond memory’s & experiences aboard DW. ALL, preparing you both for new adventures as trawlers (crawlers). And, saving grace for the ‘sailing’ fix is you can always fit a ‘steady sail’ for the trawler mast rig & appease/ keep the sailing community friendly.
Trawlers w/ steady sail is kinda like debunking the proveb “Having the Cake & eating it too”.
You CAN have the trawler (powerboat) & set the steady sail & have the Sailboat too. hahaha

#TrawlerLife

Fair skies & flowing seas… All the best to you both.
Love, Florida Haleys

There is no better way to experience the America’s Cup than aboard the ROAM with our friends Clark and Michelle. If this is The Dark Side–sign the McHughs up! Ok, so the Kiwis blew Oracle out of the water, but, really, who cares! We Americans need to get over ourselves; we can’t win all the time! And thanks to Michelle’s BLTs that Tom can’t stop talking about, AND Clark’s Dark n Stormy tutelage, this Bermuda Adventure has topped our vacation chart!
Thanks again for above-and-beyond Hospitality. Fair seas to Nova Scotia 💙💙